I found the signup form but it seems strange a Business name is a required field in the form. I’d have thought the target for the free version was individual users.
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“I’d have thought the target for the free version was individual users”
I suspect that it’s more likely to attract new developers. I very much doubt that FM wants to bother with supporting normal people even to the extent of writing up basic enough help files–there probably aren’t anywhere near enough normal people who would want to do the learning curve to be worth while, and though non-developer users would be more enthusiastic, there aren’t really that many of us and most of us wouldn’t be inclined to convert to a paid level. I hope I’m wrong, and I also hope I’m wrong about my suspicion about the free version being cloud data only.
For me, it’s easy to just stick with my old versions (Pro 2, 4, 6, and 12) on old systems, on old hardware and/or virtual. Versions Pro 2 - 6 should run quite nicely in the lovely Mac OS 9.app (based on Sheepshaver; needs Sierra up as host) but I haven’t tried it yet. The emulator claims to work on apple silicon macs, and if someone want to buy me a spiffy new computer I’ll be happy to test that!
I agree with this, but those developers begin as single users. I’ve retired now but have always been a one-man developer as far as Filemaker is concerned. The freemium version will allow me to support and update existing solutions and those clients will pay for their multi-user licenses.
It just seemed a little odd that it required a business name - I’m sure there’s plenty of developers who simply trade under their own name. It’s not an issue for me as I also have a business name, just seemed strange :)
Yes I am aware of this proposal and have signed up to give it a test when the beta becomes available. But the information from Claris clearly states an organisation/business focus for this product and moreover it is an online application. Thus I have drawn the conclusion that it is not going to be downscale enough to meet the wants of individual consumers or community groups. I do hope that it will meet my specs and requirements to save me making the transition to a non-FileMaker solution.
Claris haven’t launched Claris Pro yet, but their website is up… although they haven’t posted the links anywhere that I’ve seen. I stumbled across it.
They are introducing 3 new solutions/apps.
Claris Pro will be the ‘replacement’ for Filemaker… but Filemaker will continue for quite a long time, with essentially parallel features.
This is the new Claris Pro website, which suggests that it will run as a Desktop app amongst others. As ever, it’s not entirely clear exactly how it’ll run, but by look of things, we’re going to find out pretty soon. 
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Yes, it feels odd. Having lived through many years of “required” fields, I’d suggest either the acquiescent option (type your full name in the field) or the rebellious option (type an "option+SPACE in the field). The latter might get an odd look if there is a human actually eyeballing the resulting lists, but it satisfies the “required” condition. 
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I just signed up and there is a field for a business name but it wasn’t a requirement at this point.
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I just signed up and company name WAS a required field. I put in my initials and it was accepted.